Diet and Behavior

The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of different time-of-day eating patterns on incidence of lifetime mood disorders. From 2004 to 2006, the study assessed 1,304 subjects on their food and drink intake over 24 hours. Their lifetime mood disorder prevalence was measured at follow-up (5 years later) using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Three eating habits were identified: grazing (intake spread across the day); traditional (highest intakes as breakfast, lunch and dinner); and late (either skipped or delayed breakfast with greater consumption in the evening). Compared to the adults in the respective pattern at baseline and follow-up, a higher prevalence of mood disorder was seen in the highest third of the “late” pattern (PR=2.04), and a lower incidence observed in the highest third of those eating in the “traditional” pattern (PR=0.31). It was found that the adults in this cohort population who experienced a mood disorder during the follow-up had a 1.07 higher relative risk of being in a higher “late” pattern score category than those who did not experience a mood disorder. This suggests that having an eating pattern that involves skipping or delaying breakfast may increase one's risk of developing mood disorders. [NPID: behavior, eating patterns, grazing, skipped breakfast, breakfast]

In this review, Fiese (2018) discusses food-related time allocation in several forms, and its relationship with our eating habits. Drawing from previous studies, Fiese states that the amount of time dedicated to cooking and dining can be associated with cardiovascular risk and BMI, and therefore focuses on alternate influences on diet and health, such as perception of time intensity and direct observation of allocation during meals. Those who feel time pressure or strain may be less likely to get involved in healthy food related activities and could be at a higher risk for health outcomes. Fiese recommends a socio-ecological approach to the study of time allocation and dietary habits in the United States, and promotes the exploration of direct observation of time use. [NPID: behavior, breakfast, time allocation, timing, cardiovascular risk, BMI, time pressure, food timing]

This 2020 study aimed to analyze the effects of exposing individuals to stress and cues (food and neutral) on their food consumption, and determine if their responses differed by weight status. The 138 participants were exposed to the cues on 3 separate days (using an individualized script-driven imagery task), before being allowed to eat as many snacks (high and low calorie) as they desired after each cue exposure. While food cues were found to elicit significantly greater hunger than neutral and stress stimuli, no difference in cue-induced hunger between weight statuses were observed. Participants also consumed similar numbers in calories after each cue exposure, although a significantly greater proportion (average 81%) came from high-calorie foods in the obese subjects, compared to 63.5% in those in the normal weight category. Weight status did not influence energy contribution from high-calorie foods following the neutral cue, but after the stress cue in particular, 81.4% of what the obese individuals ate were high-calorie snacks, whereas this percentage was 70.2% for those with normal weight. It appears that food and stress cues induced obese participants to consume more high-calorie snack foods than normal weight individuals. [NPID: behavior, stress, food cues, snacks, snacking, obese, obesity]

Hess et al. (2016) begin by mentioning the benefits of defining a snack and distinguishing between meals and snacks, since the labeling of a food as one or the other may affect an individual’s food choice and possibly their satiety after consumption. The purpose of this review was to examine the definition of extra eating events, to understand the rationale for eating at these times, and to discover the commonly decided food choices, in order to suggest dietary interventions for improving these habits. In part 1, the writers discuss how snacking is defined, and how an individual’s motivation to snack and snack choices can be influenced. In part II, they present popular snack choices, overall snacking frequencies, and the demographics (across several countries) of those who snack frequently. The authors also inspect snacking’s relationship with cardiometabolic health markers. This review is concluded by an encouragement to promote nutritious snacks with the goal of preventing nutrient deficiencies. [NPID: behavior, snacks, snacking, meal times, timing, satiety, eating times, nutrient deficiencies]

Since consumer acceptance is crucial for the success of personalised nutrition services aimed at preventing diseases, Reinders et al. (2020) tried to relate an individual’s ambivalent feelings and contextual factors to their willingness to use personalized dietary services. The researchers obtained data from 797 participants in the Netherlands through an online survey, and tested and compared different models. The risk-benefit calculus model showed a positive correlation between weighing benefits and privacy risks with intention to use personalized nutrition advice, while ambivalent feelings were linked with weaker intentions. This suggests greater uptake of personalized services when perceived benefits outweigh risks. Additionally, more ambivalent feelings were experienced when eating context was perceived as a barrier to use the services of personalized nutrition. These findings imply that personalized nutrition services may need to address affective concerns and consider an individual’s eating context. [NPID: behavior, consumer acceptance, personalized nutrition, disease prevention, individualized nutrition]

Bracale et al. (2020) conducted a 14-question survey based on the updated Mediterranean diet pyramid to determine the respondents’ eating behaviors and compliance to the Mediterranean-like dietary pattern since this habit may help prevent certain chronic diseases. While this cross-sectional study targeted subjects over the age of 19, the vast majority of participants (75.6%) were female, 20.7% were in the younger category, and 33.1% had a university degree. Sedentary lifestyle was prevalent in 37.8% of the sample population, including in 29.6% of those aged 20-29 years. Moreover, females and older people especially did not adhere to recommendations included in the Mediterranean diet pyramid. One of the highlights was the discrepancy identified between the responders' perceived and actual behaviour toward their regular consumption of fruits and vegetables. The results emphasize the lack of adherence to the Mediterranean diet recommendations shown by Italian adults. [NPID: behavior, mediterranean diet, chronic disease]

Timlin et al. (2020) conducted a systematic review to find and qualitatively evaluate trials that implement whole dietary patterns using a Social Cognition Model. The purpose was to thoroughly assess the effectiveness and psychological theory of dietary interventions that encouraged a whole eating pattern. The 9 studies that met the inclusion criteria were then analyzed to find that interventions improved at least one food group in studies reporting on individual food group scores. Overall, based on the Theory Coding Scheme (research tool that determines the extent to which theory was applied to design interventions), it was suggested that studies were not vigorously applying theory to intervention design. We should investigate further to determine the most important behaviour change theory and techniques in dietary interventions. [NPID: behavior, dietary patterns, social cognitive, whole eating pattern, whole foods, dietary intervention]

This 2011 review explains the phenomenon that is entrainment by food and specifically by palatable snacks. Escobar et al. (2011) say the signals transmitted by the biological clock, that normally adjusts to the daily light/dark (LD) alternation, can be influenced and overridden by food. There usually exists a correct coordination between the light/dark transition and the food elicited time signals with the circadian system, but this synchronisation within the body becomes disturbed if food is consumed during the regular resting/sleep phase. This review suggests that scheduled feeding may lead to food addiction and that altered eating schedules can alter dietary behavior and result in obesity and abnormal metabolic responses. [NPID: behavior, snacks, palatable food, palatable snacks, snacking, circadian rhythm, metabolism, obesity, scheduled eating, scheduled feeding]

Since there has been some controversy about using questionnaires to examine emotional eating behaviors, this 2013 study used the Single Target Implicit Association Test (ST-IAT) to measure emotional eating to compare with the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ). The participants (undergraduates) were induced with either the positive, neutral, or negative mood. Milkshakes were consumed during and after the mood induction. The initial theory was that those individuals with strong emotion-food associations (indicated by the ST-IAT) would consume more food after experiencing the mood induction, when compared with those who have weaker emotion-food relationships and those in the neutral condition. The results demonstrated that participants who scored high on both the negative and positive ST-IATs ate more during a positive mood induction than during a negative mood induction. But this did not relate to greater milkshake intake after the elicitation of different moods. Additionally, the IAT-positive emotional eaters consumed more food than IAT-non-emotional eaters. The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire did not affect milkshake consumption. Thus, the Single Target Implicit Association Test (ST-IAT) shows promise as a measure of emotional eating. [NPID: mood, negative, positive, neutral, milkshake, diet, emotions, emotional, eating, overeating]

In this 2016 study, 190 undergraduate women were randomly assigned to either an anger or neutral mood condition, before completing the Food Stroop task (assesses attentional bias), and then given the chance to eat mandarin oranges and/or chocolate candy while the experimenter was not present in the room. The plan was to examine the effect of attentional bias and negative affect on food consumption. The results showed that women high in negative urgency (NU) who experienced emotional arousal were more likely to consume candy and more candy than any other woman participant. Attentional bias was not related to food intake, and was unaffected by emotional arousal or emotional valence (interest/attractiveness). The influence that negative mood has on consumption of palatable foods appears to involve emotional arousal rather than emotional valence, and may be primarily seen in women high in negative urgency. [NPID: mood, attention, attentional bias, affect, negative affect, negative urgency, emotional arousal]

This 2020 study explored the possible relationship between grazing (eating frequent snacks at irregular intervals) and goal-directed behavior. Grazing is an eating style common in obesity and eating disorders, which are both linked with less purposeful, flexible goal-directed behavior. This experiment was carried out on participants with obesity and significant eating disorder features, other obese individuals without marked eating disorder features, and healthy-weight controls (age- and sex-matched). The group with obesity and signs of eating disorder showed the lowest action-outcome contingency sensitivity out of all three groups. There was a small but significant link between grazing severity and contingency sensitivity in the group with obesity and eating disorder features. It appears that increased grazing severity correlates with less diminished contingency sensitivity. In conclusion, obese people with eating disorder attributes may have less flexible and adaptive instrumental behaviors. Although grazing has poor long-term implications, it may be a goal-directed behavior within this group of individuals with obesity and hints of eating disorder. [NPID: eating disorder, grazing, snacks, obesity, obese, overweight, snacking, behavior]

This 2020 study explored emotional overeating by exposing participants to a personalized emotion induction while showing images of palatable foods, and assessing the effect of emotion condition (negative, neutral) and individual differences (self-reported trait emotional and restrained eating) on outcome variables such as facial expression, brain reactivity, valence (attractiveness) and desire to eat. The results revealed increased attractiveness and appetitive reactions to palatable foods in individuals with higher emotional eating scores in the negative condition, but the opposite effect in those with lower emotional eating scores. A similar pattern was observed for desire to eat ratings among participants who showed greater response to the emotion-inducing technique, indicating a dose-response interaction. Furthermore, increased brain activation was apparent among restrained eaters in the negative condition when viewing images of foods compared to objects. The appetitive reactions seen in emotional eaters backed up emotion regulation theories, while the brain activity towards food compared to objects among restrained eaters support cognitive theories. The authors believe further investigation is necessary, particularly on eating disorders with emotion regulation difficulties. [NPID: mood, emotional eating, palatable foods, appetite, emotions regulation, eating disorders]

The aim of this 2018 study was to determine the association between types of emotional eating with psychological and physical health variables. A total of 189 overweight/obese adults enrolled for this study, completed a number of questionnaires and reported their height and weight. More frequent eating in response to depression, anxiety/anger, and boredom were all related to poorer psychological well-being, more eating disorder symptoms, and increased difficulty managing emotions. While eating in response to depression was most closely related to the psychological variables, all 3 of these previously mentioned emotional eating types were associated with specific disordered eating emotions. Positive emotions were not linked with any of the outcome variables. Braden et al. (2018) suggest there may be unique patterns connecting specific types of emotional eating with psychological outcomes. [NPID: mood, emotional eating, emotion regulation, depression, anxiety, anger, boredom, eating disorders]

According to Emilien & Hollis (2017), we need to fully understand the factors that modulate people’s dietary behaviors not only because food choices are linked with risk of developing certain chronic diseases and some forms of cancer but industrial food production is believed to be unsustainable and greatly contribute to the greenhouse gas emission. There is evidence that a combination of factors such as physiology, environment, psychology, culture, socio-economics and genetics, play a part in influencing eating behavior. These single factors have been identified but the authors believe the interaction between these factors will be helpful in developing new models of eating behavior. This current review portrays how complex eating behavior really is by discussing the impact of several important physiological and environmental factors on meal initiation, meal size (satiation) and inter-meal interval (satiety). A number of limitations that may apply to this area of research is also revealed. [NPID: mood, dietary behavior, chronic diseases, cancer, food production, greenhouse gas emissions, satiety]

In this 2019 study, a total of 4378 Iranian adults were questioned on their breakfast habits to assess the relationship between consumption of breakfast and prevalence of psychological disorders (including depression and anxiety). In addition to depression and anxiety (examined by using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire), psychological distress was also measured in each participant through a General Health Questionnaire. Overall, almost 14% of the respondents had anxiety, around 29% had depression, and ~23% reported psychological distress. But those who ate breakfast daily were less likely to have depression than those who have breakfast less frequently. In addition, breakfast intake showed an inverse relationship with reports of anxiety. More frequent breakfast consumption was even associated with lower odds of psychological distress. This study concludes that among Iranian adults, the regular intake of breakfast was correlated with lower risk of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. [NPID: depression, anxiety, stress, distress, psychological, Iran, Iranian, adults, breakfast, diet, habits, eating, behaviors]

Kenny (2011) states that while humans consume food to keep energy levels balanced for optimal functioning, palatable food is also eaten due to its pleasure-inducing properties, which is what leads to excessive caloric intakes relative to requirements, and significantly contributes to the growing obesity problem in developed countries. Since little is known about the pleasure-related (hedonic) brain systems that affect food intake, compared with the knowledge on homeostatic mechanisms of feeding, this review presents the recent progress made in the understanding of these brain circuitries that control hedonic aspects of eating behaviors. The author also points out that certain brain circuitries stimulated by the uncontrolled intake of palatable foods are similar to those seen to be involved in drugs of abuse. Evidence has emerged suggesting that obesity and drug addiction may share common hedonic mechanisms. Those genetically vulnerable to drug addiction may be at greater risk of developing obesity. [NPID: mood, pleasure, palatable food, hedonic, drug addiction, addiction, obesity]

This book published in 2011 informs us of the ongoing research and latest theories, as well as the measures and assessment tools employed to measure attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to food. Blundell et al. describe how quality of life, body image, binge eating, purging are evaluated, in addition to the measures used to assess physical activity, food consumption, restrained eating (restricting food intake to lose or maintain weight), and people’s attitudes and beliefs on obese individuals. This Handbook acts as a reference for researchers specialized in obesity and for clinicians focused on working with patients who show poor dietary behavior. There are also sections in this book on children’s issues with eating and body weight, and the identification of psychological problems in patients with eating disorders. A number of highly regarded scholars and researchers in this field have contributed to this Handbook to bring us up-to-date, evidence-based information. It is said that there is no other resource that offers such a comprehensive collection of assessment methods for eating disorders and weight-related problems in one volume. [NPID: behavior, attitude, quality of life, body image, binge eating, purging, restrained eating, obesity, children’s diet]

Here, Burger et al. (2016) analyzes the construct of hedonic hunger (high appetitive drive in response to food cues) using the data taken from 3 separate studies. The plan was to identify correlations between the Power of Food Scale (PFS) scores and neural responsivities during consumption, with perceptual hedonic (pleasure) ratings of food images, the anticipated intake level of palatable foods, behavioral food reinforcement, and changes in BMI and binge eating over time. The results indicated associations between hedonic hunger with behavioral food reinforcement, perceptual hedonic ratings, and also responses in the right and left postcentral gyrus’ (brain regions implicated in oral somatosensory processing during cue-elicited anticipation of food intake). Although hedonic hunger was not found to be linked with the participants’ BMI at baseline or with alterations in BMI over the 2-year follow-up, it was strongly correlated with binge eating at baseline (in 2 samples). To summarize, there is a high probability that people with high hedonic hunger show increased neural and perceptual responses to cues of palatable foods, already binge eat, and also have heightened drive to eat these tasty but unhealthy foods. [NPID: behavior, hedonic hunger, food cues, appetite, appetitive drive, pleasure, binge eating]

This essay published in 1994 explains how emotional regulation and dysregulation may have developed based on a clinical viewpoint. Cole et al. state that dysregulation in emotion control could arise and become a part of a damaging coping mechanism if the person is put under certain circumstances. Emotional symptoms are commonly seen in various forms of psychopathology. Dysregulation can be somewhat characterized by the subject’s use of cultural display rules, ability to reflect on the complexity and value of his/her own thoughts in a healthy way, access to a range of emotions, and ability to adapt between emotions in terms of intensity and duration. The authors mention that there is a framework which allows parties to assess how emotions are regulatory, how their governance changes over time, and to determine under what conditions an adaptive emotion process can be modified into a pattern of dysregulation associated with mental disorders. This research requires the study of children with or without mental health problems, with paradigms in place to allow researchers to see the children’s reactions beyond what they can personally report. It is believed to be particularly important to examine children and their families in emotionally challenging situations since the environment around the children appears to play a crucial factor in the disturbance of the kids’ interpersonal and intrapsychic functioning, as well as their learning of emotion control. [NPID: behavior, emotional regulation, coping mechanisms, psychopathology, emotion control, interpersonal, interpersonal functioning, intrapsychic functioning]

This 2016 study tries to differentiate 2 approaches that research studies use to describe eating pleasure: “Epicurean” pleasure which refers to the pleasure felt based on the aesthetic appreciation of the sensory and symbolic value of the food; and the eating pleasure that has been associated with short-term visceral (felt internally) sensations triggered by hunger, external cues, or internal emotional urges. Cornil & Chandon developed scales for Epicurean eating pleasure and utilized the external eating and emotional eating scales to find differences in tendencies to experience Epicurean eating and visceral pleasure. The results demonstrated a higher prevalence of Epicurean eating pleasure among the women than the men when the analysis model didn’t consider age, income and education. Unlike visceral eating pleasure, the tendency to feel aesthetic-related eating pleasure was linked with a preference for smaller food portions and better health, but not with higher BMI. The researchers believe that a more holistic approach ought to be taken to describe eating pleasure, one that takes into account the positive role of Epicurean eating pleasure in healthy eating and well-being. [NPID: behavior, pleasure, epicurean pleasure, sensory, symbolism, visceral, external cues, internal emotional urges, emotional eating, epicurean eating, visceral pleasure, portions, portion control, holistic health]

This 2019 study was conducted to determine whether attention, mood, and satiety can be influenced by meal composition and post-meal activity, as suggested by previous research, but among a sample of subjects at genetic risk of developing cardiovascular/neurodegenerative diseases. Each participant (26 in total) took part in 4 dietary interventions including the high-fat Western diet, the Western diet (WD), Mediterranean-type diet, and the Mediterranean diet (all identical in energy content). The subjects then walked (on a moderate level) for 30 minutes. Attention, mood, satiety (fullness), and plasma cortisol concentrations were measured at fasting and at 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 hours following consumption. After eating each meal, attention was found to increase continuously for all 4 interventions. But attention decreased after post-WD walking. The diet interventions did not appear to affect post-meal mood, however, which was generally deemed “good” across all interventions. Moreover, cortisol concentrations in the blood did drop after intake of each diet, and the maximum level of satiety/fullness was documented 1.5 hours after meal intake. Postprandial satiety was in fact higher after the Mediterranean diet than after the Western diet. In summary, meal composition was not shown to markedly impact attention or mood and resting rather than walking after having a typical Western diet-type meal seems to have beneficial consequences on attention levels. Furthermore, following a Mediterranean diet could reduce energy consumption and possibly assist in the control of weight due to its strong and long-lasting effect on satiety. [NPID: behavior, attention, mood, satiety, post-meal activity, meal composition, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, western diet, high-fat, mediterranean diet]

This 2017 study analyzed how the surrounding food environments and cues may predict the daily dietary behaviors of overweight and obese adults. Many studies have implied previously that the food environment influences eating behaviors. Also, individual dietary behavior, which is believed to be a risk factor for obesity, depends on internal and external cues. Over 14 days, this study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to assess the behaviors of the 51 overweight/obese adults. The participants’ meal and snack consumption were examined randomly and multiple times daily, simultaneously with cues and momentary food environment. The cues related to increased likelihood of eating were both internal (affect) and external (food availability, social situation, observing others eat). The surrounding food environment at the time of eating were found to predict meals and snacking: overweight and obese individuals were more likely to eat high-energy snacks when fast food restaurants were close by, and low-energy snacks while supermarkets were within proximity. Elliston et al. conclude that real-time food intake behavior is associated with internal and external cues in overweight and obese adults. Also, how the individual perceives the surrounding food environment influences food choice. [NPID: food cues, obese, obesity, affect, food availability, social situation, snacking, internal cues, external cues, perception]

The purpose of this 2019 study was to quantitatively define hyperpalatable foods (HPF), and to use this definition to determine the prevalence in the U.S. food system. So far, the meaning of hyperpalatable foods has not been particularly specific and have been described using terms such as fast food and sweets. Fazzino et al. therefore quantified constituents such as fats, simple sugars, carbohydrates, and sodium, by collecting the common definitions written in the literature and using a type of nutrition software. The researchers found three clusters according to the research literature that defined HPF: > 25% kcal fat and ≥ 0.30% sodium by weight; > 20% kcal fat and > 20% kcal from sugar; and > 40% kcal carbohydrates with ≥ 0.20% sodium by weight. When this definition was applied to the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS), it was revealed that 62% of foods met HPF criteria. Those identified to meet the criteria included labeled reduced or low fat and vegetables cooked in creams, sauces, or fats. A substantial proportion of foods in the U.S. food system may be hyperpalatable including foods that had previously not been regarded as HPF. [NPID: behavior, hyperpalatable foods, fast food, sweets, high-fat high-sugar, western-style diet]

While snacking models have shown that potato chips’ impact on energy intake correlates to their fat/carbohydrate content (FCHc), this 2019 study aimed to evaluate whether this fat/carbohydrate content can also influence the energy intake patterns and reward processing of rodents. The snacking model used in this study treated the satiated rats to foods rich in FCHc for 10 minutes three times a day. The rodents were discovered to consume higher levels of energy in a day when these FCHc-rich foods were unavailable, compared to days without access. There were also signs of binge eating episodes, with the animals eating 55% of their daily energy intake at times of limited high fat/carbohydrate feed access. When these fat- and carbohydrate-rich snacking opportunities were removed for six weeks and reintroduced to the rodents, not only did the total daily energy consumption rise, but the relative quantity of energy obtained from the FCHc-rich foods were also greater. In comparison with standard chow, snack foods and fat/carbohydrate foods were potent food reinforcers in satiated mice. The fat and carbohydrate content of the feeds appear to possess strong reinforcing properties and are likely to be influential in the alteration of food intake patterns and quantity when animals are given unrestricted food access. [NPID: behavior, reward, fat, carbohydrates, carbs, binge eating]

Johnson & Wardle (2014) here argue that although food palatability and variety have been repeatedly shown by human and animal studies to heavily influence appetite stimulation, satiety (feeling of fullness) delay, and the promotion of excessive energy intake, there is a limited amount of evidence estimating how strongly the weight of an individual human being is affected. In addition, the paradigm in the laboratory is not the same as the eating environment in a natural setting. Past studies have revealed that both food palatability and variety have a significant impact on short-term food consumption, with their increases linked with weight gain also in animal models. But the authors note that there are individual differences in vulnerability to the palatability effect, which can determine how likely the individuals are to gain weight. While the knowledge on how palatability and variety interact with eating is progressing, more intervention and epidemiological studies are needed to confirm whether controlling the surrounding food environment is crucial to tackling this obesity crisis, and for these laboratory findings to be considered and applied by public health. [NPID: behavior, food variety, food palatability, food environment, obesity]

Lowe & Butyrn (2007) discuss the phenomenon called hedonic hunger, which is the elevated appetite a person feels due to the food environment. The psychological effect of hedonic hunger is said to be similar to that felt when undertaking activities such as compulsive gambling and drug use. The drive for pleasure (hedonism) is increased. It had been assumed that when a normal-weight individual tries to restrict food intake in order to lose or maintain weight, the irregular appetite is due to the dys-homeostasis (imbalance in diet-related systems) induced by the diet. However, the writers of this article review studies that may suggest that the deviation in appetite levels are more likely to be a result of hedonic hunger (eating less than wanted rather than less than required). This report also describes the Power of Food Scale (PFS), a measure of individual variation in appetitive responsiveness to rewarding properties of the food environment. According to preliminary evidence, this measure is valid and reliable, and when combined with altering food availability and modifying palatability, could be a promising approach to studying hedonic hunger. [NPID: behavior, hedonic hunger, food environment, addiction, compulsion, reward, palatability]

As obese people have been characterized by their lower executive functions and enhanced food cravings, Massicote et al. (2019) set out to determine if executive functions were linked to food cravings in the context of obesity. Another objective of this study was to find factors that predict highly palatable food intake and bland food consumption. Executive function was tested using a delayed discounting task (assesses impulsivity towards food and money) as well as the color-word interference test (CWIT; inhibition/flexibility). The participants were also shown images in addition to real food, before gaining access to unrestricted amounts of both highly palatable and bland foods. The researchers had hypothesized that executive functions would be negatively associated with food craving. The inhibition/flexibility condition of the color-word interference test (CWIT) did inversely correlate with food craving. Moreover, highly palatable food consumption was significantly predicted by food craving following induction, although bland food intake was not. This study has revealed a relationship between lower inhibition/flexibility and greater vulnerability to experience food cravings, which may have huge implications in managing obesity. The findings also supported the link between food craving and consumption, particularly connecting food craving with highly palatable foods but not bland foods. These conclusions could lead to interventions aimed at reducing food cravings being developed in the future to help people lose weight. [NPID: behavior, craving, executive function, obesity, impulsivity, inhibition, flexibility]

Meule & Kübler (2012) highlight the increasing amount of evidence being released suggesting that food cravings and excessive food intake are due to addictive processes. This present study administered the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), a novel measure for identifying those with addictive dietary patterns. The respondents of this online study completed this YFAS as well as the Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait (FCQ-T). Those participants diagnosed with food addiction according to the YFAS had higher scores on all food craving subscales except for anticipation of positive reinforcement (which was thought to perhaps come as a result of eating). Analysis models later indicated positive correlations between all the food craving subscales with food addiction symptoms, while positive reinforcement could negatively predict signs of food addiction. This study therefore demonstrates that people with addictive eating patterns feel more food cravings but do not expect positive reinforcement through eating. [NPID: behavior, cravings, addiction, positive reinforcement]

This 2021 study investigated whether total negative affect per day and level of negative affect variability per day possess influence on the likelihood of the individual eating high-calorie snacks in the presence of snacking cues. The data was extracted from an ecological momentary assessment study which took food logs and tested their 60 participants for 14 days using known snack cues. As with previous studies, the chances of the subject consuming a snack increased when food was available, when others were eating, and when higher negative affect was experienced. These associations between snack consumption with food availability and presence of others eating were significantly moderated by negative affect variability. In other words, correlations between snack cues and high-calorie snacking were weaker on days of higher negative affect variability. However, negative affect levels did not moderate the relationship between cue and snacking. In conclusion, variability in negative affect can have an influence on the snacking cue-behavior interaction. A complex relationship is suggested here between negative affect and calorie-dense snacking, perhaps requiring clearer conceptualizations. [NPID: behavior, negative affect, affect, food cues, snacking cues, snack cues]

This 2018 study applied the cognitive processing model of alcohol craving (CPMA) while investigating the role of food craving in the already well-established restrained eating–overeating relationship linked with binge eating disorder (BED). A sample of 1058 respondents completed an online survey assessing restrained eating, trait food craving, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating. After implementing the CPMA, food craving was found to significantly affect, in an indirect manner, the association between restrained eating and both uncontrolled and emotional eating. Gender did not appear to influence the dynamics between restrained eating and different facets of overeating. This study has indicated that to target binge eating behaviors, it may be more effective to give consideration to the activation of food craving rather than to the reduction of restrained eating. Moreover, Verzijl et al. have uncovered that food craving is a target with potential to cut down people’s binge and overeating behaviors, regardless of the person’s gender. [NPID: craving, behavior, CPMA, binge eating, restrained eating, trait food craving, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, overeating]

This 2014 was the first in its time to investigate hedonic hunger (appetitive drive to eat for pleasure rather than hunger) among individuals with eating disorders. Hedonic hunger has been associated with overeating and uncontrolled overeating. Witt & Lowe therefore gathered a sample of patients with anorexia nervosa, restricting type (AN-R), anorexia nervosa, binge-purge type (AN-B/P), and bulimia nervosa (BN), and assessed the participants on hedonic hunger using the Power of Food Scale (PFS). The aims of the study included evaluating the relationship between PFS scores and frequency of binge eating and determining whether baseline PFS scores could be used to predict weight change during treatment. Individuals with bulimia nervosa scored higher on the PFS (hedonic hunger measure) compared to anorexia nervosa sufferers of either type (restricting and binge-purge), although those with binge-purge type appeared to score higher than than those with restring type anorexia. In uncontrolled and controlled analysis models, greater PFS scores were found to correlate with more frequent binge eating among patients with bulimia. A similar pattern was also observed among subjects with anorexia. Finally, PFS scores predicted alterations in weight in anorexic participants but not in bulimic patients. These findings suggest that hedonic processes may have vital roles in triggering binge eating, and that there may be potential in managing hedonic appetite in weight management among people with anorexia. [NPID: craving, hedonic hunger, appetite, eating disorders, overeating, binge eating, anorexia, bulimia]

Skipping breakfast is associated with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis